By Shannon K. Jones
Staff Reporter
LANSING - While House Democrats initially hoped their trash legislation would be passed as early as this summer, the climate on the House floor suggests otherwise.
House Democrats claim that after having the required one-fifth of House members on their side to call for a vote or discussion on pending trash legislation that House Republicans refused to give the bills a hearing. The incident reportedly happened on June 23, after Democrats tried to link the anti-trash legislation to a Senate bill the House was voting on during session. This is the second attempt Democrats have made at bringing their proposed legislation to the House floor. Citing the GOP's actions as unconstitutional, State Representatives Steve Adamini (D-Marquette) and Alma Smith (D-Washtenaw) submitted a letter to Michigan Attorney General Michael Cox requesting an investigation into the matter according to Dan Farough of Democratic Communications.
House Dems unveiled their anti-trash legislation in February this year as an attempt to stop the amount of garbage being imported into the state. Currently Michigan is the third largest importer of municipal solid waste. The legislative package proposes raising the dumping charge, employing tougher penalties for sending banned items to landfills and requires tougher enforcement by citing violators with non-criminal civil infractions.
Chippewa County's Dafter Landfill currently receives imported Canadian trash on a regular basis. Representative Gary McDowell (D-Rudyard) was hoping to gain bipartisan support for the bill, citing the bill benefits everyone in the state as a whole.
Each year Michigan's 51 landfills take in 62.6 million cubic yards of solid waste, 9.4 million (15 percent) of which is from Canada and 6.1 million cubic yards is attributed to other states. Michigan has gained popularity as a dumping ground as the state's dumping fees are some of the cheapest in the nation.
Federal law currently does not allow states to ban the importation of garbage as it is considered part of interstate commerce, over which Congress has jurisdiction.
